Chapter 169

*Elora*

The storm had quieted—but only on the surface. Beneath the silence of the crumbling academy walls, the air vibrated like a held breath. Like the world itself was waiting for something to crack.

We moved through the inner vault corridors with quiet urgency, Slo leading us by instinct more than sight. Her flame flickered in a way I’d never seen before—thin and trembling, like a thread being